Kale Almond Vegan Pesto

This Kale Almond Vegan Pesto makes a wonderful alternative to traditional basil pesto plus it’s cheaper to make & it’s dairy free. Stir through freshly cooked pasta for a super fast & nutritious meal!

This recipe for Kale Almond Vegan Pesto was originally posted in April last year, a week or two after I started my website. I have been making it regularly since then and it has evolved a little for the better over time.

I decided that I should update this post to reflect that and also retake the photos because, quite frankly, the original ones were absolutely terrible! My photography, although still not perfect, has improved considerably since my early days shooting with just my phone and  I really wanted to do this delicious vegan pesto justice, by making it look a lot more attractive than it did in my earlier photos!

(You can see one of the original photos at the very end of this post if you want to compare!)

Kale seems to be one of those things that you either love or hate. I love it and really enjoy the distinct flavour of this delicious pesto.

This Vegan Pesto combines:

fresh kale

garlic

a little nutritional yeast

olive oil

almonds

And it takes all of a few minutes to make.

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN PESTO

SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST

Making Vegan Pesto is just as easy as making regular non-vegan pesto is. In fact pesto is one of the easiest recipes you can make period.

Here’s how:

STEP 1

Add all of the ingredients, reserving abut half of the almonds for later, to a food processor.

STEP 2

Process until as smooth as you want it to be.

STEP 3

Check the seasoning and add a little more olive oil or a little water to think if required.

STEP 4 

Add the reserved almonds and pulse until they are chopped into chunky, texturized pieces.

STEP 5

Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge.

HOW TO SERVE VEGAN PESTO

I love this pesto with Spelt Lumache Pasta from the Cowichan Pasta Company. Cowichan Pasta is the first pasta company in Canada making stone ground pasta with ancient grains such as Spelt, Emmer, Khorasan and Red Fife that is stored in whole kernel form, and then milled fresh with a grind that maintains more of the fibre portion of the wheat than over processed grains. It is made just an hour or so from my home and is a truly wonderful pasta. If you are in BC it is readily available in a lot of stores or you can buy it online via their website. It’s really, really good.

But there are lots of other ways to use vegan pesto.

• Try it in my Creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta Salad
• Use it on pizza instead of pizza sauce, or use it as well as pizza sauce, dolloped all over the top
• Spread in sandwiches or wraps before filling
• Fill homemade ravioli with it
• Use in panini
• Try it in a baked sweet potato with some cashew cheese. So good!
• Toss through steamed new potatoes
• Use it to flavour soups and stews

This Kale Almond Vegan Pesto is deep green with flecks of chunky, crunchy almonds. It tastes great freshly made but tastes even better after a few days in the fridge. I store it in a little mason jar and it is then ready for a quick meal at the drop of a hat. It also freezes very well.

This recipe didn’t get a lot of love the first time round because it was published so soon after starting my blog and I only had about two readers at the time! Ha ha! It’s amazing to think how far I have come in that time and it won’t be long until I am celebrating my one year blogoversary. I think a massive squidgy birthday cake recipe might be in order, don’t you?

Enjoy folks!

Kale Almond Pesto

This Kale Almond Pesto makes a wonderful alternative to traditional basil pesto plus it's cheaper to make & it's dairy free. Stir through freshly cooked pasta for a super fast & nutritious meal!

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Course: Entree, Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine: gluten-free, vegan

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total time: 5 minutes

Makes: 6 Servings

Calories: 194kcal

Author: Melanie McDonald

Ingredients

• 7-8 medium Kale Leaves
• 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (if you prefer not to use oil you can sub this for water but you won't get quite as good a consistency or flavour)
• 3 large Garlic Cloves (add more or less depending on how much you like)
• 4 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
• 70g | 1/2 Cup Raw Almonds
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

• Wash the kale and strip the leafy parts from the stems. Discard your stems or save them in a bag in the freezer with other veggie trimmings to make your own homemade veggie stock.
• Add the kale, olive oil, garlic nutritional yeast and roughly half of the almonds to a food processor or blender and process until as smooth as you would like it. 
• Season with salt and pepper to taste and add more olive oil or a few drops of water to thin if you prefer a thinner pesto. 
• Add the remaining almonds and pulse until they are chopped but not too small. A nutty, chunky texture is really good! 

Notes

Use immediately or keep in a jar in the fridge for up to a week. It also freezes well. If it becomes a little dry just add a few drop of water or some olive oil to dilute it slightly,

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 194kcal | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Sodium: 7mg | Fiber: 3.2g | Sugar: 0.8g | Vitamin A: 21% | Vitamin C: 22% | Calcium: 5% | Iron: 5%

Tried this recipe?Tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan

Disclaimer: I was not asked to endorse the Cowichan Pasta Company. Their products are ones I love and use myself. I think it is extremely important to support local businesses hence the link to their product/site. I am not affiliated with them in any way and I aim to only ever share products in which I truly believe and trust. 

The Old Picture….